THE APPEARANCE OF FLIES, ETC. 175 



selected a few flies from the box. The moths had 

 played sad havoc with the wings. On my drawing 

 attention to this he at once said, " It's the body that 

 matters not the wings." He was a very successful 

 fisherman. There is something in what he said, and 

 I have never forgotten it. Nevertheless, hackle 

 and wings have a good deal to do with form, and 

 cannot be disregarded. I have no doubt, however, 

 that the old man's ragged-looking flies would 

 generally account for more fish than some of the 

 bushy varieties one comes across. 



Gaudy coloured flies, particularly of the ringed 

 pattern, are danger signals to trout. The gay livery 

 of the common wasp, for example, soon becomes 

 known and respected at a distance. 



Insects of the wasp order are coloured to be seen 

 not hidden. Both the under and upper surfaces of 

 their bodies show sharp contrasts of colour. Even 

 in reflected light from the bottom of the river the 

 distinct pattern cannot but be seen. Such colours 

 are quite different from those of harmless, edible 

 flies, for they are much cruder, and more strikingly 

 contrasted. 



Besides those members of the Hymenoptera 

 family that are hurtful and unpalatable, there are 

 other members, which although coloured and ringed 

 in a mimicking, waspish way, are mere frauds. 



